Christina

Never had a 1st silent heat. It was always obvious they were on heat. One experience of a silent heat, not her 1st season. No swelling, no discharge, no tarting with the other girls, no flagging of her tail, no boys interest & then One day the male went to mount her, the other bitch was on heat so I said off, wrong girl silly. No tie, 30 seconds on her back & 9 weeks later 4 puppies. Experienced yes, I had no idea or indication at all. I do have a cat that always has silent heats, its a pain. Put her in with the stud & he either knows or ignores her.

You make many good points however there has to be some kind of organisation for the welfare of animals. They can't do it themselves. It does depend on which organisation it is, many are very extreme. The lunatic ones are a problem & somehow do gain support for some weird reason. I admire the work Animal Liberation in Australia do, especially re the puppy farms & have a link to the Victorian branch on my website, yes I am a registered breeder. Its a state with so many puppy farms & so difficult to get them shut down there. They do some good work under difficult circumstances.

I love Hinch. He is cranky, cantankerous & speaks his mind no matter how unwise & what the consequences are for himself. He was probably horrified when he realised all this after buying his own dog that way. Love him or hate him he certainly says what needs to be said with no beating about the bush.

I don't know what people think in general when they buy a puppy, there seems to be no general which is why they buy from everywhere & pay varying amounts. Most that buy my puppies have had a poodle before & if they haven't I expect them to have done some research & soon fill them in, especially re the grooming & allergy free debatable issue however While the people regularly on this forum with a high interest in dogs may pay anything for particular lines without disrespect the average pet buyer has no idea of lines & what is behind them or any problems. They see a pedigree, maybe some champions & its all fabulous & the breeder is great.

Hmmm, thanks. Reminder to update my signature. Silly season is looming close again.

Oh I am bad :D Due to high demand by puppy farms & cross breeders I desex mine before they leave too. Too late if don't & I find out later they are in a hell hole or someone is breeding & giving a copy of the pedigree or crossing. I also charge less than many interstate breeders. Reasons as follows This state has so many poodle in the paper & pet shops & some long time registered breeders do sell very cheap also. I know of one that charged $600 for a pet & $1,500 for a breeding dog from the same litter at the time I had a litter. Many say they do not want desexed. When I ask why not one has ever expressed concern about early desexing. The reply is always I may want to breed, with my friends dog etc. Like that's ok. I do believe that people deserve a quality, health tested pedigree pet & know that it is not beyond the bounds of affordability & that you don't have to go to the pet shop, shonky breeder etc. That does promote our breed & make people aware. I also prefer to find a home in my own state whenever possible although I have sent interstate, easier to check. One has to be guided by what others charge to a certain degree & it is better to find the best home for those that you cannot run on or keep than hang on in there for the $.

Still going very much My question was why a good opportunity to help stop puppy farms & promote pedigree registered breeders was turned down. How many litters (as long as its not 1 over bred bitch ) & if they register them is the least of the dog welfare issue. The conditions they are kept in, the life they have, if health testing is done, good food & vet care, if they keep track of dogs bred & ensure as much as is possible that they go to good homes & to breed to a good standard etc are more important than just how many & registration. Also many dogs do have a wonderful life without being shown or participating in organised activities.

That is a whole other debate. If they had legal power to enforce the code of ethics, which would start with them having the right to inspect breeders home conditions, things would be different However They are what victoria has, the alternative is for registered breeders to not be exempt from the desexing rule. Then what ? The question was Why have they said no to this opportunity ? Just really curious as to the reasoning behind the refusal.

Obviously this is cruel. Just shoot them Seriously I can't think of one legal thing you can do ;)

I wonder why they said no to give the presentation ? Sounds like an ideal opportunity to represent their members, help educate the public & help prevent animal cruelty. Anyone know the reason ? ;)

Whilst I do not deny that my dog has this rank issue, I need to question that "big dog, not good" thing. If he was a poodle, do you think it would be acceptable, just because it is a little dog? I put a lot of time and effort into training my dog because he is a big dog and have to face the prejudice associated with owning a giant breed. Ok, so a SWF would do less damage if aggression turned viscious, but that would not excuse the behaviour. I've had a great chat to K9Pro (thanks Steve!) and will be starting to implement a few new rules. I also spoke to OH earlier and the tribe has spoken - it's time to, Dupree. Of course not. However a poodle is far less likely to see Dupree in intensive care should things take a turn for the worst. Size does matter when it comes to aggression - that's reality not prejudice. NO aggression is acceptable. ;) Dupree. No prejudice intended about your giant breed, I have had a giant breed in the past. I didn't infer at all it would be acceptable behaviour from a small dog. Above quote explains it sensibly. Big dog damage is usually bigger. Sorry

Bit late now I suppose but what about your visitor feeding & walking your dog & dishing out the orders. Probably too scared by now. I would also be worried that now your dog has started this he may continue in this behaviour. Big dog, not good.

Just shown on the news in SA here. They said Bull Mastiff & showed the dog. Whatever it is its enormous, the head was huge.

Honestly think that wrong breed for the wrong home is not the reason for so many dogs being got rid of. I think people have unrealistic expectations of what it is like to own a puppy or dog. They don't realise its work & effort, no dog is perfect. People want convenience & what they see on TV, that is not real life but some think it is. Pups like children make a mess, destroy things, cry, demand & need patience, time & teaching to reach sensible adult hood. Its the age of instant perfection with many experts saying do it this way & its easy. With some dogs it is & with others it is not & that is not always relevant to the breed. Not rocket science to know that large dog can bowl little ones over, small breed can get squashed/injured by children. Breed knowledge is important but it is not the whole issue. Its peoples attitudes.

Maybe she is just uncomfortable at the moment or extra sensitive there. Leave the belly pats for now she will probably be fine when the pups are born.

As long as you can train your children as well as your puppy I think its great for them to grow up together. I had a doberman with young children. Big & 1st rule was to teach the puppy to sit & the children to order it too. Visiting friends had to say sit & no pats until she did. Many happy years with a great dog who never jumped up, nipped or bowled them over. She adored children & was so gentle & obedient but I was very firm with all. If you can be bothered to train & know you will not get slack with either children or dogs it can wonderful.

I tried el cheapo. Battery powered thingy you pointed at the dogs & pressed the button when they barked. Supposed to emit a high frequency sound. It did stop them in their tracks & then they all looked at it & barked at it poodles are so smart, yeah. I found a sports whistle much more effective.

whoops, dial up cut off, double post deleted.

I can't open the PDF link thing for catergories. Is there one for baby knits ? I have some nice ones I can send if so.

What you can do with this photo probably is open in photoshop, or similar & use the clone tool to obliterate the bars. You just pick up a small piece from very close on the photo & clone it in until the bars are gone. Only works on some photos, depending on what is in it. If you want to email me this photo I can try it for you. Couldn't do it on the 2nd one though. When taking photos of my stud cats in their runs the only way I find is to get the camera aimed through a gap.

:hug: Never experienced this. Maybe poodles are just too posh I am going to be corrected on this aren't I :D Sounds like a blocked nose would be a blessing in disguise right now.

Too true. Years ago pet shops took the oops litters. They stood more chance of getting a home than the pound, were not bred as deliberate cross breeds for $'s & were usually true mongrels. Pet shops were small businesses not big chains just all out for money & often pups were taken home or given to friends or family if they did not sell. I can't understand how the public don't know better. Some must just believe anything in the media, blind themselves to the puppy farm issue & not think about or concern themselves with this. Years ago no one knew better but now there is info on the net, in newspapers, magazines, TV, radio for people to consider & make an informed choice.

I don't think its a case of more litters overall its more having them at the same time. Expecting litter sizes of 1 to 3 on average I mated 3 girls at the same time. One did not get pregnant. As I start toilet & lead training plus baths, brush & clip at 5/6 weeks I honestly don't think I could manage it with say 3 litters of a big breed. Depends if you have a lot of help too I guess. re answer to original post. Depends on the breeder. You can only go visit & judge for yourself if you are happy with the standards & care. I breed & show 3 cat breeds however they are all allowed to be bred to each other, siamese, oriental & balinese, being the same breed with variation only in coat & pattern so it is easy to keep up with what is going on in the bred & shows. A website is as good as the breeder makes it, certainly not gospel. Research & visit.

Just posted this in News, didn't realise it was posted here. Everyone at the show must be so nervous now. Its disaster show this year. 1st the cattle drama & now this.

News flash on channel 7. A Chihuahua was stolen from its pen at today's royal show. Police are seeking 2 men of asian appearance. Very scary. Hope the poor dog is recovered, its owners must be frantic.